Looking for a reliable and cheap air courier for your imported products? In this article, you’ll get a complete overview of the largest American, European and local air courier companies operating in China – including the following:

DHL

FedEx

UPS

TNT

China Post

Hong Kong Post

SF Express

We also cover Amazon’s plans to step into the international logistics market, and how you can find the air courier with the best prices and service.

DHL

DHL or DHL Express is a German based courier service founded in 1969. The head office of the company is based in Bonn, Germany.

DHL is also ranked as the world’s largest courier service with its presence all over the world including China.

DHL has presence in China for last three decades with its regional head office located in Beijing. It’s now known as one of the leading courier and logistic companies in China out of 35,000 companies working in the same market.

Some of their core delivery and air freight services include:

Worldwide delivery service and international shipping

DHL eCommerce that includes international and domestic parcel pickup, delivery, and return solutions specifically designed for businesses.

The other DHL air freight options include DHL Air Priority, DHL Air Connect, DHL Air Economy, DHL Air Charter, DHL Air Thermonet, DHL Air Freight Plus, Lifeconex, and DHL Air Combined. Continue Reading →

Finding the right shipping company or freight forwarder in China can be a serious challenge. Logistics account for a tenth of the world GDP, and includes everything from small scale bookings agencies to online platforms with live tracking.

In this guide, we help you select the right shipping company for your import business.

Some of these companies are traditional freight forwarders, while others are shipping marketplaces, where you can get quotations, book, pay and track your shipments.

Keep reading, and learn what you must know about Fleet,Freightos, ChinaDivision, FloShip, Flexport and many other companies – as we compare them based on their services offered, locations and ratings.

Disclaimer: Most of these companies are not headquartered in Mainland China or Hong Kong S.A.R. However, all listed shipping companies and forwarders have partners or local offices in China. Some are also headquartered in China (including Hong Kong S.A.R), such as FloShip, ChinaDivision and Freightos.

Freightos

Freightos is the like Expedia or Travelocity for international freight. Basically, with the Freightos Marketplace, importers can easily compare, book, and manage international freight from over 50 freight providers. They’re very much geared towards supporting small importers as well, with some great support resources, as well as live chat and phone support.

Plus, it’s free to sign up and compare shipments, so there’s no real reason not to use, even if only for competitive intelligence.

Freightos has received highly-positive online feedback from customers. Their marketplace is global, with providers based in the US, Canada, the UK, China, and elsewhere. Forwarders that sell on the Freightos marketplace include many well-known reliable logistics companies like HTCG, Sinotech, Amass, AB Logistics, and Eurasia.

The ordering process on Freightos is straightforward, including streamlined handoff of your documentation to the forwarder, and centralized shipment management.

Founded in 2012 by serial entrepreneur Dr. Zvi Schreiber, Freightos has raised over $50 million dollars and has six offices worldwide, including Miami Beach, Barcelona and Jerusalem.

Tryfleet.com

Founded in 2014, fleet acts as an online logistics marketplace where you as importer can connect with shippers and other service providers.

The service helps you find the best possible solution for your goods shipment for the best price and make you take an informed decision.

The head office of the company is based in Portland, Oregon, United States, but it offers its services to clients from all over the world including China.

The website with simple user interface allows you to choose air or ocean freight, provide details of country of origin and destination, and get instant quotes from a wide range of freight services.

All the freight forwarders listed on the website are verified by Fleet. Each forwarder is also rated and reviewed by the clients on the website so you can have a good idea about the forwarder’s reputation.

In addition, the service also provides an online dashboard to streamline all communication with the forwarder, track shipments in real time, get quick support, and easy and fast payments.

Sea freight shipping from China is perceived as a major hassle when importing products. As a professional in procurement, I can state with confidence that sea freight and shipping is not what should keep you up at night.

There are far more complex issues when importing from China. However, Importers still have reason to be concerned about freight related issues.

While the process is straightforward, and part of an established and functional international system, the learning curve can be pretty steep.

Incoterms, FCL, LCL, Bill of Lading. For starters, the terminology can be discouraging just by itself. On top of that, most people in the industry can barely explain, in plain English, how the sea freight process works from A to Z.

Keep reading, and learn how sea freight works when shipping from China. In this article, we cover everything from shipping costs and insurances, to incoterms, FCL and LCL shipping.

Incoterms

Shipping Incoterms are international standard codes that decides when and where cargo shall be transferred between the supplier and the importer.

For example, FOB (Free on Board) only includes transportation from the factory, to the port of destination (i.e., Hong Kong). In addition, FOB also includes all export procedures, which are required to ensure that the cargo can be legally exported.

However, from the port of destination, you must arrange forwarding to the final destination.

You can, on the other hand, book DAP (Delivered at Place), which includes shipping from the factory in China, to a specified address overseas. Such as your office or warehouse.

When you get a quote from a supplier, you must always specify the incoterm you want. The unit price for FOB Hong Kong is, for example, lower than a unit price based on DAP Los Angeles.

These days it’s common that Ecommerce companies don’t start with one target market in mind. Instead, European importers start selling in the US and EU on day one, and vice versa.

For Startups, it’s expensive to ship stock from the manufacturer to several countries – not to mention how complicated it can be to get a grip of taxes and customs procedures in all those countries.

This is why more companies are using Hong Kong as their main fulfillment center. From Hong Kong, a freeport in southern China with no import duties, you can ship products directly to customers in the US, Europe and the Asia Pacific Region.

In this interview with Steve Suh at Floship in Hong Kong, you will learn how your business can save time and money using Hong Kong as a fulfillment center.

Steve Suh, please tell us a bit more about yourself and your work at Floship in Hong Kong

I am Korean-American from Philadelphia. I Embarked on my start-up career in Shanghai, where I got involved with a Sequoia Capital backed start-up called MyLuxBox, a cosmetics subscription box start-up that later got acquired by jumei.com.

After that exit, I joined China’s largest cross-border e-commerce logistics company 4PX, where I gained knowledge on the industry and led me to kick-start Floship, a platform catered to international merchants – whereas 4PX was China merchant focused.

Regarding work at Floship Hong Kong, started in February 2015, went though a couple rounds of funding led by prominent Asia VC’s and angel investors.

To date we’ve raised more than USD 7 million and, as we continue growing and adding new products, for example, we are soon launching a FBA prep service, a China ecommerce B2C inbound channel, global warehouses and a few other projects we are excited about but aren’t ready to disclose yet that will continue to make it easier for online sellers of all sizes to take advantage of marketplaces globally and participate in the world economy in ways never before possible.

Many of our readers want to know if it’s possible to deliver products, one piece at a time, directly from Mainland China or Hong Kong – to their customers all over the world. Is this possible today?

Yes. This is one of Floship’s most popular offerings.

As far as whether or not this model is possible – it is now at a mature state: it has been going on for over 10 years .

Due to the high volume of e-commerce cross border shipments from China and Hong Kong, there are now cost effective and fast shipping options that have opened up to facilitate cross border trade. Continue Reading →

An Incoterm is a three letter code (i.e., FOB or CIF), defines when the cargo is transferred from the buyer to the seller. Incoterms is the main pillar of international shipping, and without a basic understanding of them, you may end paying a lot more for your shipments, than you should.

In this comprehensive guide, you will learn what Incoterms are, and which code you should select, when importing products from China (and elsewhere in Asia).

In addition, you will also learn which Incoterms to avoid, and how the ‘wrong incoterm’ can cost you a fortune.

Get 10% off on your first shipment with Freightos

An introduction to shipping Incoterms

Incoterms may look a bit confusing at first sight, but they are not hard to get at all. Basically an incoterm consists of two components: a three letter code and a city name. Let’s begin with the first part.

The three letters incoterm code specifies “how far” the supplier shall ship the cargo. Basically, how much of the shipping you pay the supplier to handle. Based on the incoterm you select, you can let the supplier handle the shipping of products to a nearby port in China or all the way to your front door.

A price quoted by a Chinese supplier is always based on an incoterm. Without an incoterm you have no idea how far the supplier will ship your cargo.Continue Reading →

Sea freight is the most cost effective way to transport your goods from the factory floor in China, to your warehouse – especially when shipping larger volumes according to FCL (Full Container Load) terms.

That said, many buyers don’t purchase large enough volumes to fill an entire container with goods. For this category of buyers, the LCL (Less than Container Load) options remains.

In this article, you will learn what LCL and FCL is, and how they differ in terms of cost and process.

In addition, you will also learn how you can save thousands of dollars, by consolidating your LCL shipments into one FCL shipment.

Get 10% off on your first shipment with Freightos

Definition of FCL (Full Container Load)

FCL is an international ISO standard referring to one (full) container load (20” or 40”) containing cargo for one consignee (one importer). FCL shipping is the cheapest mode of transportation when importing from China.

However, in order to be a viable freight option it requires the importer to purchase a relatively large quantity of products.Continue Reading →

What makes the topic of shipping and logistics complicated is not really the process itself, which is the case with most other procedures importers need to deal with when importing from China. It’s the shipping costs.

Moving cargo from Country A, to Country B, involves a myriad of companies and government authorities, on both sides. For small to medium sized enterprises, especially those without previous experience, there are plenty of pitfalls.

In this article, we explain what you must know about the main shipping costs that arise from the factory floor in China, to final delivery in your warehouse.

No one has said that international shipping is easy. In fact, figuring out how to ship goods from China to the US in the most economical way possible can be pretty complex. When it comes to the China-US trade route, a small business can often improve their shipping methods in order to save time and money.

Vetting a freight forwarder, in order to find one with combination of experience you’re looking for, and adjusting several things, such as container size or packaging, can work wonders.

Tips To Save Time

Losing valuable time due to shipping delays is a common problem that can plague small business owners. Inconvenienced customers will be calling and asking about their orders, meanwhile the delayed products will be sitting overseas or even at port just miles away. It can be a frustrating situation for everyone. But there are definitely ways to curb this type of problem.

Because most small businesses cannot regularly visit their suppliers, it can be hard to curb delays on that side of the ocean. However, a few simple things can help improve your shipping times.Continue Reading →

The role of the freight forwarder is to move cargo from the factory floor, to your warehouse or basement. When importing from Asia, the freight forwarder can be part of what make – or break – your business.

In part due to relatively low barriers of entry, there are literally tens of thousands of freight forwarders out there. Some are good, most are average – and then there are the scammers that will take your money and run.

To help you navigate this (naval) minefield, we’ve prepared a 12 part checklist, that can help you identify the freight forwarder that is just right for your scale, product category and market.

Get 10% off on your first shipment with Freightos

1. Is the forwarder primarily based in your market, or in China?

As said, the role of a freight forwarder is to move cargo from point A to point B. To do so, the forwarder needs local representation in both the country of origin and destination.

Assuming that the forwarder did everything from the pickup, to shipment, unloading, customs clearance – and final delivery – there would probably only be a few forwarders in the entire world, given the huge resources an end to end supply chain requires.

In most cases, it is easier to work directly with a freight forwarder based in your own country. Getting cargo out of China is normally less complicated than getting the cargo into your country.

As such, you want to work with a freight forwarder that is experienced with local importing and customs procedures. In addition, you have somebody speaking your language, that is held accountable to the regulations in your country.

If you work with a Chinese forwarder, they’ll use a forwarder in your country, that is part of their network. Still, you will for the most part communicate with the forwarder in China.Continue Reading →